Our First and Last Days Together
by Darifica
Summary: By chance, Haruka and Sousuke end up talking, and talking leads to meeting up in secret, whereas meeting up leads to relevations and eventually feelings none of them ever thought they could have.
1. Spending Time Together

**Hello! It's been forever since I've posted anything on here. I've been hanging around pretty much exclusively on AO3 lately, so there's why.**

 **Since I finally took some time to write something somewhat serious, I figured I might as well post it here as well.**

 **This will have 3 chapters altogether.**

 **I'd love to know what you think!**

* * *

In the summer, after graduating high school, Haruka spent as much time as possible with all of his friends. Inevitably, as Sousuke was one of Rin's closest friends, whenever the group went out, Sousuke also tagged along. It became a common thing to have Sousuke hang around. At first, Haruka didn't like it too much. Sousuke and his relationship was still rather stiff. He realized that for Rin's sake, they should've been working on it, but truthfully, he wasn't feeling up to it. He just wanted to spend some time with his friends, enjoying the last of their carefree days, not deal with Sousuke and his mood swings.

Sousuke had started warming up to him more, slowly but surely. Even so, he was still far from being casually friendly. Haruka knew he was actually a good guy. If he hadn't been, he wouldn't have been friends with Rin. It was that simple. But it was rare for him to show his better sides towards Haruka. He didn't really care about it himself, but he noticed that it bothered Rin, thus, he found himself considering trying to start up a conversation with the fellow graduate, to ease the tension between them, if only a little.

However, as things turned out, he didn't need to make the effort himself, as Sousuke was the one who took the first initiative, surprisingly enough.

Makoto, Rin, Haruka and Sousuke had all decided to go for a jog in the park that morning. After spending a couple of hours running, they came across a park bench and decided on a break. Rin spotted a vending machine not too far away from the place, so he pulled Makoto along with him to fetch them all some drinks.

Meanwhile, Sousuke sat down casually on the bench, letting out a deep breath as he wiped some sweat from his forehead with the towel around his shoulders. Haruka spent a full minute just staring at the bench, pondering whether to sit down next to the bigger guy or not.

Sousuke glanced at him, sighing in exasperation as he took note of his inner turmoil.

"Come on, Nanase. Just sit down. I'm not going to bite, you know."

Haruka said nothing, but obeyed his words, seating himself.

Neither of them being much of a talker, they stayed silent for a moment, until Haruka decided to speak up.

"Well, you never know.." he said cryptically, causing Sousuke to turn his head towards him.

"Huh?"

"About the biting."

"Ah.. What I'm saying is, I'm not as bad as you might think. Why'd Rin wanna be friends with a bad guy anyway?"

Haruka cracked a small smile.

"I was just kidding. Relax. I don't hold anything against you."

Sousuke stared at his face, dumbfounded over seeing anything but a pokerface adorn his features.

"I see.. That's good then..," he drawled, looking away awkwardly.

"Even if you were quite the jackass towards me before, when you thought of me as a threat," Haruka continued unexpectedly.

"Hey! Uh.. I guess you're actually right." Sousuke scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. Don't take it too personally."

"It's okay. I didn't really care anyway."

"Just like Nanase," Sousuke thought, rolling his eyes, but smiling in amusement.

"You sure are talkative today," he pointed out.

Haruka seemed surprised at the comment, as if he hadn't noticed it himself.

"I guess."

He shrugged.

That was the moment Rin and Makoto decided to return with their drinks, effectively cutting off any more conversation between the two quiet ravens.

Haru spent the next days with Makoto, Rei and Nagisa. Rei and Nagisa were clearly saddened over the fact that he and Makoto were about to leave them and move on with life, but they did their best not to show it too much, acting cheerful and energetic. Neither Haruka nor Makoto wanted to ruin their last days together either, so they kept up the pretense that they didn't notice a thing.

About a week since their last encounter, Haruka met Sousuke again when he, Rin and the rest of the group went swimming. Sousuke was there, but he didn't swim. He just watched the others with a longing look in his eyes.

When the others headed for the showers, Haruka got up from the pool and padded over to Sousuke, who was still looking enthralled, as if he hadn't seen a pool in ages. Haruka didn't know why, but he had the sudden urge to say something. Watching that boy made him feel irritated somehow.

"Why don't you just swim?" he inquired as he stood in front of the other, arms crossed.

Sousuke glanced up at him, startled out of his apparent reverie.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Just sitting there isn't going to do anything good for your shoulder. And you know it. So why?"

Sousuke's head fell and he glared at the ground.

"It's none of your business," he bit out, sounding more harsh than intended.

Haruka shifted his weight, pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes.

"It may not directly be, but I consider Rin's business to be my business, so indirectly, yes it is."

Sousuke ground his teeth together, looking at the other crossly.

"Fine. I'll tell you."

He took a deep breath, calming himself.

"It's just that Rin will get his hopes up, if I swim. I don't want that to happen again. I want him to really understand that I can never except to be able to swim professionally."

Haruka rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he can be quite thick skulled and stubborn sometimes. But seriously, don't let that stop you from doing what you want. I can see how obviously much you want to swim. Your shoulder can handle a bit of it, right?"

Sousuke nodded hesitantly, perplexed by the dolphin boy's concern. He had never heard him talk half as much. It was a lot to take in.

"Well then, why don't you swim a bit now, when Rin's not looking? I can keep watch."

"Uh.. No, it's fine, I can go on my own later or something."

But Haruka wasn't convinced.

"You want someone to keep you company, don't you?"

Teal eyes widened as Sousuke stared at him, shocked by how easily he saw through him.

He felt his cheeks heat up slightly. He was such a child.

"I just get really into it when I'm swimming, so I sort of need someone to tell me if there are any visible changes in my shoulder. Sometimes it gets red, if I don't take it easy enough. The doctor has allowed me to swim, but.. not to strain my shoulder too much, obviously."

Haruka stared back at him.

"So in other words, you haven't swum at all since summer started, have you?"

Sousuke averted his eyes, almost as if he felt guilty over something.

Haruka sighed.

"Then let's meet up here later."

He said the words with such finalization that Sousuke found it too difficult to protest.

"Eh.. okay, if you're fine with it."

"Sure I am. I can swim any day any time."

Suddenly, Rin poked out his head from the shower room, shouting to them.

"Oi, what are you two doing over there? Haru, get over here already! The rest of us are heading to the locker room!"

He glanced between Sousuke and Haru curiously, then shrugged once and disappeared back into the shower room.

Haru waited a few seconds to make sure Rin was gone before continuing.

"6 pm. I'll be waiting."

Sousuke looked at his watch for the umpteenth time. It was three minutes before 6 and he was waiting for Haruka by the empty local Iwatobi pool. He was just about to start up another round of warm ups for his shoulder when the dolphin boy finally showed himself.

"I thought you were the one who was going to be waiting," he said teasingly.

Haruka walked up to him.

"Don't complain. We're doing this for your sake, remember?" Haruka stated flatly, obviously not one for joking around.

"Yeah yeah, I know, and I appreciate it."

Haruka looked directly at him for the first time since arriving, huffing slightly.

"Anyway, let's get in the pool," he stated.

"Getting straight to the point. I like that," Sousuke grinned.

They were both the straightforward types after all. Perhaps they would be getting along better than any of them would have expected.

They did as Haru had suggested and Haru watched Sousuke carefully as he entered the water, massaging his shoulder in the process.

"Hey, loosen up a bit. You don't need to watch me that intently," Sousuke tried, feeling awkward under the watchful gaze.

But Haru neither replied, nor did he have any intentions of letting up on watching the other like a hawk. It was what he was there for. Of course, getting to swim at the same time was a bonus.

Frankly, he had no idea why he'd even had the impulse to help the hopeless Samezuka graduate in the first place. He could use the excuse that it was for Rin, but the truth was that seeing Sousuke looking so helpless had somehow caused him to feel frustrated and wanting to do something to wipe that helplessness away. If nothing else, it was the least he could do for a fellow swimmer. Moreover, he personally couldn't imagine not being able to swim anymore, so he couldn't even begin to fathom how horrible Sousuke must have felt when he'd realized something was seriously wrong with his shoulder and that swimming only made it worse. Thankfully, and Haru was relieved for his sake too, he didn't have to completely give up swimming. He'd have to change direction of his dreams, but he could still have swimming as a hobby. It certainly was better than nothing.

"We'll be swimming free today.." Haruka started, but was interrupted mid-sentence.

"Do you ever even swim any other style?"

"Nope," Haruka stated simply. "But that's not the reason. The point is for you to swim free. It'll be easier on your shoulder than butterfly. And you're good at both, right?"

Sousuke nodded thoughtfully.

"You've really thought this through," he pointed out.

"It's just common sense. You can rely more on your feet in freestyle."

"You have a good point. Well, alright then. Let's do it."

"Yes, just take it easy on your shoulder. I shouldn't have to tell you twice."

Sousuke rolled his eyes, feeling like he was a child getting lectured.

"Yes sensei," he muttered as he sank completely into the water and began swimming leisurely.

Haru swam beside Sousuke, keeping his calculative gaze on him.

They kept it up for about half an hour, when Haru suggested they take a break.

As they sat on the bench along the poolside, Sousuke watched the water droplets fall from Haruka's hair onto the floor, feeling almost hypnotized by the irregular movements.

"Yamazaki," Haruka spoke suddenly, sharply, pulling the other from his trance.

"Yeah?" he questioned, trying to sound composed.

"Let me massage your shoulder for a bit."

Sousuke looked incredulous, so Haruka clarified.

"It's supposed to be good for injured body parts."

Sousuke still looked skeptical, but Haruka didn't give up.

"Just turn your back towards me," he ordered, his impatience starting to show through.

Doing as told, Sousuke let Haruka do whatever he wanted to his shoulder.

Haruka slid his hands onto both of Sousuke's shoulders, marveling at how broad they were. Slowly, he began kneading tight circles into them.

At first, it didn't hurt at all, but when Haruka pressed both palms into his injured shoulder, Sousuke let out a pained "ouch!"

Haru continued his ministrations, ignoring him until he almost got tears in his eyes from the pain.

Sousuke let out a relieved breath when he finally stopped.

"Jeez, you're harsh!" he whined.

"Hey now, I didn't say it'd feel good. An effective massage always hurts a little.. It's only natural it'd hurt more for you."

Haruka gave him a sidelong glance as he turned back around.

"Not knowing something like this, I bet you've never had a massage in your life. That's not good for a swimmer."

"Ugh, well, I'm not a swimmer anymore," Sousuke shot out bitterly.

"We're not talking professionals here. One can still be a swimmer, even if it's nothing but a hobby."

"Hobby huh.. Guess I've never considered it."

Sousuke was thoughtful, but determined as he stood up.

"Shall we continue?"

He held his hand out for Haruka, but Haruka simply slapped it away and stood on his own, ever the independent person.

Sousuke frowned slightly, but refrained from commenting on the rude gesture. It was probably just a Nanase Haruka quirk anyway.

As they returned to swimming, Haruka insisted on being up close and not letting Sousuke swim too far at once. He'd tell him to stop randomly and inspect his shoulder like an overprotective mother hen. Sousuke couldn't help wondering what brought the change in attitude on, but some part of him found it a slight bit endearing.

In the showers afterwards, he asked him about it, but Haruka only claimed that he was simply being serious about his task. Secrectly, he didn't really understand why he was babying Sousuke either, making that answer as good as any.

Before the two boys parted ways, they made plans to meet the same day the week after. Sousuke was initially reluctant to 'steal Haruka's time,' but Haru quickly shot down that notion, calling it ridiculous. After all, he could go in the pool. No matter the time, place or occasion, that was and would always be a positive thing to him.

* * *

 **Please note: Any 'facts' I might include about swimming or pretty much ANYTHING is just made up. I mean, there might be truth in it, I don't know. I'm just guessing, writing stuff that seems like it might be true on some level. I don't really know anything about the different swimming styles though, so don't get too upset if I make a mistake, please. T_T**


	2. Getting to Know Each Other

Wednesdays had become meet-up days for Sousuke and Haruka after the first two times they'd met each other without anybody else knowing about it. They found them to be perfectly fitting, since the Iwatobi indoor pool was mostly always empty during weekdays in summer and it was a day none of them tended to have any other plans with any of the others, as Nagisa had cram school, Rei was supporting Nagisa, Makoto usually babysat his younger siblings, who both craved his full attention, and Rin.. Rin had permission to use the Samezuka pool until the end of summer and he'd made Wednesday a day when he was diligently practice-swimming on his own. Once he got into it, he was extremely focused on his task and it was impossible to get a hold of him. It was as if Wednesday was a day perfectly carved out of stone for both Sousuke and Haruka.

One time, Haru had casually asked if Sousuke wanted to come join him for mackerel at his place. Sousuke had agreed, albeit hesitantly, and thus, he had gotten to see the Nanase household for the first time. They had eaten in silence, but not the type of uncomfortable silence they had experienced with Rin and the others around. It'd been more of a pleasant, natural silence, the type that occurs when you're enjoying the food and nobody really feels the need to exchange unnecessary words, just silently appreciating the other's company. They weren't quite at first-name basis yet, but it was something. Those Wednesdays of swimming together certainly caused them to grow closer and more comfortable in each other's presence. Silently, Sousuke was also quite impressed by Haruka's multitude of skills, swimming and cooking only being two of them.

Haruka had genuinely started to enjoy spending time with Sousuke, to the point that when he called in sick and cancelled their plans one day, he felt disappointed. When Sousuke didn't show up to any of their friend meet-ups with everyone else that week, on Sunday, Haruka decided to pay him a visit. He wouldn't have outright admitted it, but he was getting worried with the other's absence and he couldn't help wondering if he had anyone at home to take care of his sick self.

Somehow, he managed to get Sousuke's address out of a very suspicious Rin by claiming that he was just 'curious.' He realized that was blatantly obvious lie, but he really couldn't care less, nor did he care to really explain the situation to Rin. Rin was too overprotective and would freak out if he found out his best friends were getting a bit too close. You'd think he'd simply be happy about them finally getting along, but Haru knew him well enough to know that he would start worrying that they'd clash with the similarities in their personalities, such as bullheadedness and quietness, so he really didn't have the patience to deal with his prying questions. And that was the reason he simply hung up after finally receiving the information he wanted. Rin would sulk for about five minutes the next time they met, but then he'd get over it and write it off as Haru just being Haru, since he couldn't get Haru to play along with him anyway. It was all very predictable.

Right after hanging up on Rin and jotting down the address, he put on a short-sleeved hoodie and headed out to find Sousuke's house.

His destination turned out to be a 25 minute walk away from his own house. Or more accurately, about a 20 minute walk, considering Haruka had stopped many times on the way and also taken the wrong turn a few times until he got to Sousuke's house.

Once there, he was impressed. It wasn't like a mansion, but the size of the building was clearly bigger than the surrounding ones, including the front yard. There was even an iron gate stopping strangers from paying unwanted visits.

"His parents must make quite a deal," Haru thought, internally whistling.

Not one to hesitate though, he quickly pressed the call button on the intercom.

One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Finally someone replied on the other end. It was the barely distinguishable hoarse voice of a very tired-sounding Sousuke.

"Yes? Who is it?"

He sounded grouchy and irritated. Haruka instinctively took a step back, but stood his ground.

"It's me, Nanase."

There was a pause, in which Haru assumed Sousuke was trying to get over his shock at the sudden visit.

"Nanase?" Cough break. "What are you doing here?"

He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice, even underneath all the illness-caused hoarseness.

"I was just wondering how you're doing. You haven't shown yourself in almost a week now."

"Ah, yeah.. I'm not that great, as you can tell.. I have a horrible cold. But I'll get over it. You don't need to worry, you can just go back home. I'm still alive and kicking after all.."

Another cough break.

"Seriously? The least you can do is invite me inside, after I took the trouble of coming over here," Haru countered.

"No.. Nanase, are you sure about that? You might catch my cold.."

"If you're worried about that, put on a mask or something. I'll be fine."

There was another pause.

"Alright then. I'll let you in. Just a sec."

A few seconds passed, before the iron gate started rattling and getting pulled aside.

Haru wasted no time barging inside once the gate was open.

As he opened the door, which had been unlocked at the same time as the gate, he was met with a rather large, square hallway. Making his way through an open door, he found the kitchen, where Sousuke was leaning on a counter, looking delirious and clad in only pajamas and a robe.

"You.." Haru said, his eyes wide upon taking in the other's condition. "Get back to bed. Right now."

"Jeez.. Who was the one who-" Cough attack. "-pulled me out of there in the first place?" Sousuke remarked, sounding somewhat annoyed.

Haruka ignored the comment, choosing instead to stride over to Sousuke, setting his hands on his back and pushing him, urging him to move.

"I said, get back to bed. You're in no condition to be standing around here."

Sousuke rolled his eyes, but obeyed nonetheless, slowly walking in the direction of his bedroom. Haruka followed closely behind, meanwhile spending some time taking in the details of Sousuke's house. It was clearly larger than average and some decorations spread here and there looked rather expensive. Haru couldn't help wondering what his parents did, especially as nobody seemed to be home taking care of their sick son.

Once in Sousuke's room, Sousuke seated himself on his bed. Haruka crossed his arms sternly.

"Lay down," he ordered.

"I'm fine, really. I'll just cover myself with blankets," Sousuke rasped, starting to pull at a blanket that was lying beside him.

But Haruka would have none of that.

"No. Lay down properly so you can get well soon. I'll go make some porridge."

Sousuke's eyes widened in alarm, as if he'd said something terrible.

"Nanase.. You really don't have to take care of me like this. I'm not a child."

"But you're being stubborn and acting like one. Just let me do what I want, okay?"

Sousuke closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. He was getting dizzy from exerting himself.

"Okay.. I'll lay down, but.." he began, but stopped abruptly when Haruka suddenly leaned in to check his temperature.

"You're burning up," he muttered worriedly.

Meanwhile, Sousuke said nothing, as he didn't trust his own voice. Haru had really taken him by surprise and he'd had an unexpectedly strong reaction to having him up so close. He convinced himself that it was just because they weren't super close yet, having only been interacting properly for a few weeks. Neither he nor especially Haruka were the touchy-feely type of people, so it probably just took some getting used to.

Wanting nothing more than to hide his red face in his pillow, he flopped down on the bed and pulled the covers up high, but restrained himself from acting out of character. After all, his red face made sense, since he was sick.

Haruka took the blanket that rested on top of his feet and wrapped his lower legs and feet in it.

"There he goes again, babying me like I'm much younger than him," Sousuke thought.

Secretly, he didn't mind it though. He somehow sort of liked seeing this soft, caring side of Haruka. It was such a nice contrast from his usual indifferent countenance.

"Where's the bathroom?" Haruka asked, and disappeared for a minute after Sousuke gave him directions.

He came back with a washcloth, placing it carefully on Sousuke's forehead.

"You should get some sleep," he suggested and Sousuke quickly realized he was too tired to argue.

When he woke up, Haru was sitting at the end of his bed, watching something on his TV. On his bedside table was a still smoking hot bowl of porridge. He figured Haru must've just finished it and left it to cool down a little.

Haruka noticed some movement from the corner of his eye and shut off the TV.

"You're awake."

"Um.. how long did I sleep?"

"Not very long. I'd tell you to sleep some more, but you should eat something first."

Haruka reached over to grab the bowl and urged a reluctant Sousuke to sit up straight.

"Can you eat?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, I sure won't have you feeding me," Sousuke stated with confidence.

A minute later, however, he had to eat his words up, for he found out the hard way that he obviously was in no condition to eat on his own. His hands kept quivering, so he spilled all over himself and his bedsheets like a small child. He was stubborn at first, intending to make it work somehow, but in the end, he had to admit defeat and let Haruka feed him.

"Open up wiiide," Haruka teased as he brought a spoonful of porridge near Sousuke's mouth.

Sousuke glared at him, but didn't protest.

Grumpily, he opened his mouth to taste the porridge. Sadly, his cold made him unable to really taste it, but the texture was admittedly nice.

They kept the feeding up quietly until Haruka missed when Sousuke didn't open his mouth quickly enough, causing the food to pour down his chin. Haru casually set the bowl aside and started wiping around Sousuke's mouth with a napkin. Sousuke could feel his cheeks heat up from more than just his fever and only then did he notice how close they were sitting. When their eyes met for an awkward moment, Haru paused the wiping and just stared, getting an unfamiliar fluttery feeling in his gut. Once he was done, they quickly separated, both of them looking away from each other to break that strange spark of electricity that had been evoked.

Neither of them questioned out loud what that had been, but they were as much equally emotionally ruffled afterwards as they were in denial that it had really meant something.

When Sousuke had finished eating as much as his appetite would allow, Haru retreated to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Sousuke would have protested, telling him that a guest shouldn't be doing something like that and that he had done more than enough already, but for the moment, he just felt relieved to have Haru leave the room for a bit. The strange moment from before had caused a tension between them to appear that made it a little more difficult to breathe normally. Despite that, Sousuke still assured himself that it really was nothing but the fact that they were still not that familiar with each other. He realized it felt like a weak explanation, but set the whole matter aside when Haruka returned to his room.

Seating himself in Sousuke's desk chair, Haruka stared at the other person in the room, as if expecting him to say something, which he did.

"Hey Nanase.. I appreciate everything you've done for me, I really do, but I think you should start going back now. It's not good to hang around a sick person for so long. You wouldn't want to not be able to swim, right?"

Haruka was unaffected.

"I'm really okay though. I have a strong immune system. I won't get sick that easily."

"But-"

"Enough about that.. Say Yamazaki.. can I ask something kind of.. personal?"

Sousuke didn't know why the question caused him to gulp, but he nodded hesitantly.

"About your parents.. What do they do?"

Sousuke was taken aback. He certainly hadn't seen that one coming.

"My mother is a head nurse and my father a lawyer. They both work very long shifts, so.. they're rarely home."

He looked down at his hands, obviously crestfallen.

"Sorry for asking. I was just curious how come nobody's home taking care of you when you have such a high fever. Speaking of which, you should lay back down."

Haru walked over to Sousuke, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Let me fetch a new cloth."

Before he could walk out, however, Sousuke grabbed onto his arm, keeping him in place.

"Yamazaki?"

"Sorry.. Would you just stay here for a bit?" Sousuke asked in a weak voice, bangs hooding his eyes as he kept his head down.

"..Okay," Haruka replied hesitantly, confused and unsure how to act with this new side of Sousuke.

He figured he just felt lonely and wanted some company. Haru didn't consider himself good with small talk, but he on some level enjoyed taking care of others, so in normal circumstances, he wouldn't have minded it all, but something about Sousuke made him feel off-balance. It was strange. Nonetheless, he would never have been heartless enough to deny him the company he craved. Thus, he sat back down on the edge of Sousuke's bed, looking out the window in an attempt to distract himself.

"If you don't mind me asking," Sousuke spoke suddenly. "what about your parents? You seemed to be living alone when I was over.." he trailed off.

Haruka looked at him.

"Well, I guess I'm in the same situation as you. My parents are always travelling, so they just leave the house to me."

He talked casually about it and it was impossible to tell whether he actually minded his home situation or not. Sousuke could imagine that he liked the privacy. Still, knowing how humans were social creatures, he couldn't help wondering if Haru ever got lonely. It wasn't a question he wanted to ask out loud though. They weren't that close yet, after all.

They both realized there and then that they had more in common than they ever would have guessed. Somehow, it felt.. nice, having a friend who'd been through the same things and whom they could relate to.

When it was time for Haruka to go home, he had a warm feeling in his chest, as if he'd truly accomplished something going to Sousuke's house. He didn't know if he'd helped with his fever, but he did know that he felt a lot better than before he'd visited him.

As it turned out, Sousuke's fever disappeared completely two days later and as he started missing his swimming sessions with Haruka, he called him up and told him that he was feeling a lot better. Haruka, though very relieved to hear that, kept the relief to himself.

They made plans to meet the day after, just the two of them. Sousuke didn't tell Rin yet that he was feeling better, Haru being the first person he contacted. He didn't know why, but Haru was the one he wanted to spend time with the most after recovering.

It was dark in the movie theater and Sousuke and Haru were two of the few people occupying it in the middle of the day, watching a western movie about an American swimmer.

At first, they'd planned to go swimming, but Haru being the overprotective friend realized that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for Sousuke that the first thing he would be doing after getting over his illness would be to swim, even if he felt that he was fully recovered, so then Sousuke had suggested they go watch a movie, curious to see how Haruka would react to doing such a common folks activity. Surprisingly, he had been completely on board with it, so they'd decided on a movie that was very fitting for the both of them, which just happened to be running at the time.

Haru grabbed some popcorn from the big paper bag they shared. Sousuke watched him pop it into his mouth, strangely fascinated by the common action.

Haruka's eyes were glued to the screen for the most part, but when Sousuke wasn't looking he would glance at him from the corner of his eyes.

It was Sousuke's turn to grab some popcorn, but since he was watching the screen, he accidentally missed the paper bag and touched Haruka's arm instead. Haruka jumped, unprepared for the physical touch.

"Sorry," Sousuke mouthed, a small blush creeping on his cheeks.

Haruka thought it was very strange that his heart started beating rapidly to such a small, accidental touch and how he found it difficult to focus on the rest of the movie, even if it wasn't bad at all. He just kept glancing at Sousuke, hyperaware of his presence. Slowly, a lightbulb was starting to light up in his brain.

Once the movie started reaching its romantic climax between the main characters, he had the sudden impulse to do something he had never done before. Something he wanted to try, and it had to be with Sousuke.

He poked Sousuke's arm, causing the other to turn his head towards him in question.

Sousuke watched the rare indecisive expression flit across Haru's face as he averted his eyes from him, puzzled by his strange behavior. Before he had the time to ask what was wrong, however, Haruka had grabbed onto the front of his shirt and crashed his lips against his.

It was very short, rushed, barely there, but unmistakably a deliberate kiss nonetheless.

Sousuke's brain short circuited and he couldn't breathe or think. He just stared in disbelief at Haruka, who was looking away and blushing, as the credits of the movie, which was completely forgotten at that point, rolled on the screen.

Even as they exited the movie salon, none of them said anything and they kept a small distance from each other. It wasn't until they reached the streets of Iwatobi that Sousuke suddenly stopped moving and confronted Haruka.

"Nanase.."

Haruka stopped abruptly, freezing in his spot and Sousuke stared at his stiff back.

"Why did you do that?"

Haruka's shoulders slouched and he hesitantly turned his head towards him.

"I.." He took a deep breath. "I think I like you, Yamazaki," he explained earnestly, watching his reaction warily.

Sousuke gaped at him.

"R-Really? Uh, I see.." was his only, dumb response.

They didn't exchange any more words until it was time for them to separate and walk their own ways.

"I guess I'll see you soon again. Let's talk more after tomorrow's meet up with the guys," Sousuke spoke awkwardly, keeping his voice low.

Haruka watched him witch his usual stoic expression, but deep down, he felt hurt by Sousuke's reaction. It was as if he was too disgusted to even know what to say, and it pained Haruka.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow," he said, before turning and leaving with his hands in his hoodie's pockets.

Truthfully, he was surprised himself about his revelation and what he had done. Even as late as the day before, he'd never suspected that he actually had romantic feelings towards his new friend. The realization had come like lightning from a sunny sky and the kiss had just been him acting on impulse, much like how when he would see an aquarium, he'd start to strip. He really hadn't thought things through and now, for the first time in his life, he was really regretting something. But there was no turning back. He'd have to live with the consequences of his actions. At the very least, the elephant was out of the room, so he could breathe properly around his new-found crush. He really didn't like to hide things from anyone, especially from friends.

Sousuke, on his part, had a lot to think about.

Once he returned home, he flopped down on his bed, haphazardly throwing his arm over his face.

"What was that all about?"

Haruka's words wouldn't stop spinning around in his head and he was almost starting to feel dizzy.

"He likes me? Nanase is.. gay?" He absently touched his lips, cheeks heating up at the memory of the kiss. "But I didn't really mind that kiss either.. What does that say about me?"

The next day, they were reunited along with the rest of the boys. Nobody really thought it was strange or unusual that Haruka and Sousuke refused to look at each other, so on the surface, everything seemed to be the same as usual. On the inside, however, both Haruka and Sousuke had some serious turmoil going on. Haruka felt that he had been too reckless, while Sousuke was still unsure how he felt about the other.

"Hey Sousuke, get over here and join us!" Rin yelled from the edge of the ocean as he swam about, enjoying the feel of the salty water.

Sousuke didn't bother to remove the book that covered his face, instead choosing to ignore Rin and everyone else in favor of continuing his less-than-voluntary sun bathing slash resting on the public beach.

Rin rolled his eyes and huffed irritably at his friend's antics.

Haruka watched the exchange, looking worriedly at Sousuke. He couldn't help but wonder if, by any chance, he was the reason Sousuke didn't want to join them, not that it was very likely he would swim with so many people around anyway.

Everyone else simply went back to enjoying themselves, not paying any heed to Sousuke's stubborn self.

Nagisa came up behind Rei and splashed him with water, startling him out of his relaxing floating session and caused him to yell out. Rin saw what was going on and let forth a mischievous, toothy grin as he swam up to Nagisa and gave him a taste of his own medicine. Nagisa giggled and a full on childish fight went down. They splashed everyone with a large dose of water, even Haru, who simply didn't mind at all, going about his business like nothing had happened.

It was when Nagisa and Rin fought one-on-one seemingly about who could get the other wetter, despite them both being drenched, that Rin decided to call out to Sousuke again in an attempt to get him to stop being a loner.

"Sousuke, you ass! You sure you don't wanna get over here?"

Finally, for the first time since he'd placed himself in that sunbathing chair, Sousuke lifted the book from his face to observe them. Haruka noticed this and sent him a meaningful look, which Sousuke instantly recognized; "just swim," it said.

Hesitantly, he put the novel off to the side, keeping his gaze on Haru in the process. Haru nodded, a way of telling him to get on with it. Nobody else noticed the tiny exchange between the two, but somehow, it had a strong effect on Sousuke and caused him to want to do as Rin had told him. So he did. He heaved himself up from the chair and to everyone's surprise, even Haru's, trudged over to the ocean to wet his feet, getting a feel of the cold water.

"That's more like it!" Nagisa cheered and while he was distracted, Rin splashed him with a huge wave of water, causing him to gasp in surprise.

Haruka smiled fondly at their silly behavior, but even more so at Sousuke's decision to swim with the rest of them. Having managed to affect him that much with just a look, and he could tell it was his look that had affected him, now he knew at least that Sousuke's wasn't disgusted by him and his feelings. It was a large weight off his shoulders.

Sousuke had the time to swim and relax in the water for about an hour, before the sun's rays started getting weaker and when the first signs of early evening showed, the group finally decided to leave the beach and head home.

Haruka was about to ask them if they all wanted to come to his place for a while and eat mackerel, but somehow, as he threw a glance at Sousuke, who was watching him intently, he had the feeling he shouldn't and changed his mind. Besides, they were probably all tired from a long, hot summer day's worth of fun and Haruka didn't want to prevent them from going home to their families.

"Haru, are you okay? You seem to be spacing out a lot today," Makoto suddenly spoke, startling Haru out of his reverie, something he didn't show much indication of on the outside.

Trust Makoto to be able to sense every change in mood he had.

"I'm fine," he said flatly, causing Makoto to reluctantly drop the subject, though he still glanced at him suspiciously every now and then.

Nobody noticed any change in Sousuke, nobody but himself. He couldn't keep his eyes off Haruka ever since he'd first started paying attention to him that day. It was as if he was troll bound.

One thing was for certain: He needed to get Haruka alone as soon as possible to clear every unresolved thing out with him. It was just a bit difficult though, with everyone else around.

He saw his chance when Rin spotted an event going on at the town square and started dragging everyone else along to watch the mascots that had lined up and were making simplified speeches about environmental awareness.

Haruka's interest was piqued by the furry mascots and he made to follow Rin and the others, when suddenly, his arm was grabbed from behind. He turned to find Sousuke holding on to him and as he met his eyes, he noticed there was some really serious, more serious than usual, air surrounding the other. Mascots instantly forgotten, he placed his full attention on Sousuke as the other boys unknowingly ran off to watch what was going on at the middle of the town square, with Nagisa ranting excitedly to Rei about how he'd heard there was something supposed to be happening that day. Even Makoto, who had been the first best person Rin had grabbed onto, went curiously along, not checking to see whether Haru was there or not.

"What's wrong, Yamazaki?" Haru questioned cautiously once the others were out of sight.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just that I finally realized something today.."

Nobody said anything else, as Sousuke, who was still holding onto Haruka, pulled him closer and leaned down to capture his lips. Haruka's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe he was being kissed. Before he knew it, his eyes had fluttered closed and he'd lost himself in the strong embrace.

The kiss was chaste, but lasted far longer than their first. None of them really knew what they were doing, simply just going along with their emotions.

As they finally broke apart, Sousuke was beet red in the face and avoiding eye contact.

"I just.. I didn't think words were needed.. but I want you to know that I feel the same way as you do, Nanase."

Haruka's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't believe it. It was as if it was a dream. He'd been so worried that Sousuke would be disgusted by him, and then relieved when he'd realized that he wasn't, but he'd never expected his feelings to be returned. He'd never dared hope for that much.

Sousuke scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat, hoping to get Haruka to say something, but Haruka was speechless. No words would come out. So Sousuke continued.

"That is.. to say, I really like you. I can't say why exactly, but you're special to me. I've never felt this way for anyone else."

Haruka didn't think it was possible for anyone to turn any redder than Sousuke was in that instant. That realization suddenly caused him to start laughing hysterically.

"What?! What's with that reaction?!" Sousuke exclaimed, mortified.

"S-Sorry, I j-just… can't stop" Haruka squeezed out between giggles.

"Your face.. how cute!"

He laughed even harder and Sousuke frowned, slightly offended.

At last, Haruka managed to calm down. He cleared his throat, embarrassed at his own outburst.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Your expression is too cute."

He stood on his tiptoes and reached up to pet Sousuke's head.

"I'm really happy though.. surpised, but happy. I didn't expect this."

"Neither did I," Sousuke stated earnestly.

They smiled coyly at each other.

"Let's kiss some more," Haruka blurted unabashedly then and Sousuke grinned in amusement.

They did just what Haruka had suggested for a full five minutes, until they remembered that they were still in public and that their friends must have started wondering where they'd disappeared off to. Luckily, the streets were so crowded with people who were only paying attention to the event going on, the foods and sweets being sold by street vendors, that hardly anybody noticed the newly in love couple kissing in some corner of the street.

So as to not seem too suspicious and raise bothersome questions neither of them wanted to handle, what with having disappeared together somewhere, Sousuke and Haruka decided to part ways; Sousuke simply headed home and Haruka went to watch the mascots, pretending as if he'd been there all along as Makoto and the others found him and started scolding him for not saying anything and just going off on his own. He was seemingly intensely watching the town happenings, but his head was elsewhere all along.


End file.
